welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: the ays are 52, the nays are 48. the nomination of amy coney barrett of indiana to be an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states is confirmed. in a major victory for donald trump, amy coney barrett is confirmed as a justice on the us supreme court. she took her oath of office at a ceremony at the white house where she explained her legal principles. it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences. it would be a dereliction of duty for her to give into them. tracking the trump wall — we report from arizona on the role immigration is playing in the presidential campaign. a call for europe

to step up its battle against coronavirus as some hospitals in belgium ask infected staff without symptoms to carry on working. and why patches of hidden water could boost plans to build a permanent base on the moon. the newest member of the us supreme court, justice amy coney barrett, has been sworn into office at a white house ceremony. she is president trump's third appointment to the nation's top court, and cements a conservative majority on the bench. the republican—majority senate voted largely along party lines, as expected, to confirm her to the lifetime post. she is 48. the democrats had accused the republicans of hypocrisy for confirming a newjustice so close to an election, when they had refused to consider

president obama's nominee back in 2016. this is the moment judge barrett's appointment was confirmed by the senate. on this vote, the ays are 52, the nays are 48. the nomination of amy coney barrett of indiana to be an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states is confirmed. events then moved swiftly to the swearing in ceremony on the white house lawn. president trump described ms barrett as a towering intellect and her appointment as a momentous day for america. justice barrett was sworn in by the longest serving supreme courtjustice, clarence thomas. and that i will well and faithfully discharge... the duties of the office on which i'm about to enter... the duties of the office on which i am about to enter... so help me god.

my fellow americans, even though we judges don't face elections, we still work for you. it is your constitution that establishes the rule of law and the judicial independence that is so central to it. the oath that i have solemnly taken tonight means at its core that i will do myjob without any fear or favour and that i will do so independently of both the political branches and of my own preferences. i love the constitution and the democratic republic that it establishes and i will devote myself to preserving it. thank you. the new justice on the newjustice on the us supreme court, amy coney barrett. joining me now from fairfax, virginia

isjennifer nicholl victor. she's associate professor of political science at george mason university. thank you very much for your time. what do you make of this event and also, specifically, what amy coney barrett was saying there? well, to be frank, this is a bit of a fatal com plete frank, this is a bit of a fatal complete as it has been set out about a month ago, once her nomination came forward, pretty quickly after the passing of ruth bdo ginsberg which created a vacancy on ruth bdo ginsberg which created a vacancy on the court and the republican party has a republican party has a republican majority which has the authority for approving these nominations from the president, so we have seen an unusually rapid confirmation process , unusually rapid confirmation process, certainly down to the wire, just before the election. when the president says it is a momentous day for america, it certainly is. for some voters, there is nothing more important than a conservative majority on the supreme court and whoever

wins the election, this could shoot the country for a generation. certainly the judicial branch is one third of the three branches, as it were, of the us government and control of the judicial branch is seen as an important marker in any democratic society. the judicial branch is supposed to be the one which is independent and free of politics and, u nfortu nately, and free of politics and, unfortunately, since president trump has now had three appointments, which is quite unusualfor a president appointments, which is quite unusual for a president who appointments, which is quite unusualfor a president who has only been in office less than four years, he has certainly had more of a mark on this particular court then we have seen from presidents in the past, which puts a bit of a shadow on the court in terms of infecting it with a bit more politics and partisan ship than we have seen as a result of previous administrations and appointments. she tried to address that point, didn't she, in her acceptance speech, the worries of the people opposed to her appointments, drawing a distinction between judges on

the one hand, members of congress and the president of the other, she said it is a job ofa the other, she said it is a job of a judge to resist policy preferences and a dereliction of duty to give into them? absolutely, and it is a perfectly appropriate thing for a justice to say at this point and she is rising to the state of her new office in a sense, so of her new office in a sense, so certainly great credit to herfor so certainly great credit to her for that particular position. politically, because thatis position. politically, because that is happening on the election and she is now one of three justices on the court to have been appointed on a very strict party line vote which previous justices were not subject to, previous justices prior to the filibuster being eliminated in 2017 were along much more consensus line vaults, much more than a party line that appointed them, so she is clearly very cognizant of that moment and while many republicans clearly are putting

the supreme court as a high priority in theirjudgments on the upcoming election, much more so the upcoming election, much more so than democrats, it appears that this appointment is coming at a time where republicans can claim a victory on the eve of, according to the polls, unless things change next week, on the evil of what may be a great defeat for them in different branches of government, so to that extent, it may be a way of balancing power. professor, thank you very much. thank you. the world health organization has called for europe to "seriously accelerate" its fight against coronavirus. a string of countries have reported record increases in cases, led by france, which registered more than 50,000 daily infections for the first time. the who's emergencies expert mike ryan said europe now accounts for 46% of global cases and every citizen needs to take responsibility: if every individual did everything today to reduce their exposure to this virus and reduce the chance that they may expose others

to this virus and if every individual did that through physical distancing, through wearing masks, through ensuring they avoid crowded spaces, through hand hygiene, and they were supported in doing that and if every person who was a contact or who knows themselves to be a contact of a case was to quarantine themselves and be supported in that by government, then we would have significant success as has been demonstrated in many countries in containing this virus. the lockdowns and all these huge measures are in effect a replacement for what is a comprehensive approach to containing, controlling this virus and mitigating its impact. several hospitals in the belgian city of liege have asked doctors and nurses who test positive for covid—19 to carry on working if they have no symptoms. 0ur correspondent in brussels gavin lee told us the health system in the city is overwhelmed: that is the state of crisis point that hospitals in the wallonia region around liege have got to to say

that they no other choice. i was in one of the hospitals juts a few days ago, montlegia hospital in the centre of liege. they had quadrupled the size of the wards in the space of a week of covid patients and basically by saying to everybody else, all nonurgent surgeries to leave and that they had to cancel so they could maximise space. and they say, that one particular hospital, within about 2—3 days' time, they will collapse, they will not be able to cope. so what you're looking at now is ten hospitals in that position are saying to — well, they're basically looking at the amount of staff of sick. 25% of doctors and nurses are now off sick with coronavirus. on top of that, there is about 10% of staff who have tested positive in the past few days, they are asymptomatic. all of those hospitals are saying "you have no choice, "we are giving you no choice, you have to come in and work." thousands of thai protesters demanding reform of the monarchy have marched to the german embassy in bangkok to try to put pressure

on king maha vajiralongkorn, who spends much of his time in germany. they described themselves as "human beings, not dust" in reference to a thai expression that people are but dust under the king's feet. thailand's prime minister has said the country needs to bring what he described as "illegal protests" under control. jonathan head sent this update from outside the embassy. we have been to a lot of protests in many different places but this one is especially significant. they have come down to the german embassy in bangkok but what they are complaining about here is their king is in effect reigning from a foreign country. now, lots of protesters have come here. we had royalists here early today expressing their support for the monarchy. in effect, the german embassy is caught in a sandwich in between the two sides, in saying they didn't want any changes to the status quo. these numbers are much, much bigger. they blocked off one of the largest roads in bangkok, completely boxed it off, thousands of people here, but it's been a fairly orderly event and the police have got

a very heavy presence here, they are not doing much as you can see. they are simply protecting the embassy. but the fact that you have a foreign embassy dragged into the centre of this conflict at the moment over what happens in thailand tells you how serious this has become. people here feel that the german government should do something about the fact that their king is in effect resident in germany. that is what the demand is in the letter they just submitted. they are not, though, making progress in getting the government and its supporters in accepting there can even be a discussion about the monarchy. there is a debate going on in parliament right now but none of the core issues that these protesters care about or have been fighting for for months now have been discussed. the two sides are still very far apart. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: not so inhospitable after all — scientists reveal there may be water on the moon.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: in a major victory for donald trump, amy coney barrett is confirmed as a justice on the us supreme court. she took her oath of office at a ceremony at the white house where she stressed the importance ofjudicial independence. let's stay with this story now. lebo diseko is on capitol hill for us. these pictures, of course, likely to play in every republican campaign video from now until the election. for some voters, there really is nothing more important than this. yes, we have just nothing more important than this. yes, we havejust had nothing more important than this. yes, we have just had a statement from the trump campaign actually saying justice amy coney barrett is a reminder to millions of americans why they voted for president trump in the first place. she is now the third conservative justice appointed to the supreme court and you will remember that donald trump

had promised conservative voters that he would appoint more justices that aligned with their thinking to the supreme court. he has done that. he has now appointed or nominated one third of the justices on that court which is really historic. people may be wondering, the democrats really had no chance of resisting this in the senate. the republicans had a majority. if they won the election, the democrats could fight back against this, couldn't they? they could rule there should be morejustices on the supreme court, impose term limits on the people who are there, they are notably very reluctant to be drawn on this at the moment. why? this is the question that, as you say, the democrats and, in particular, joe biden have tried not to answer at the moment. initially when he was asked about it, he said i will tell you after the election. now he is saying what he would do is appoint a bipartisan

commission to review what they might do, but lots of people may be on the more progressive side of the democrats are really angry and they do want the party to come out and say, yes, we would appoint more supreme courtjustices, yes, we would appoint more supreme court justices, we would extend the number of justices on the cord. the other thing they could do is said to term limits. interestingly, thatis term limits. interestingly, that is more difficult to do than expanding and above justices on the court. just briefly, very notable, no masks in evidence at that event despite the super spreader event held to celebrate her nomination. and the person that was not present at the white house was the vice president, mike pence, and that is because, as i'm sure you will know, another of his staff have been diagnosed with coronavirus and lots of people will look at that and think it is really emblematic of the approach that this administration has taken towards the virus. we have seen a rising number, ideally peak

record number on friday of people diagnosed in one day and rising numbers of hospitalisations, too. thank you very much. security officers in belarus have arrested several hundred people taking part in the first day of a general strike aimed at forcing president lukashenko from office. some private businesses closed. a number of state workers halted production and students protested. but a government minister said the strikes had caused no economic damage. mark lobel reports. the protesters' latest move — to paralyse the country with strikes, urged on by exiled opposition politician svetla na ti kha novs kaya to topple, in their eyes, an illegitimate president. the strike action spread to several cities across belarus, students taking to the streets almost three months after a disputed election. translation: first, we have to address the freedom problem and then it will be possible

to get a good education because until we have solved the country's problems, how can we study? translation: we want tojust one thing, the man who rules our country, who pronounced himself the king or tzar, to leave us alone. we want competent people to lead our country and for our economy to grow. translation: perhaps there isjust no peaceful way. i don't know. it's a horrible thing to say, but probably only resistance fighters can help us. as the government insisted businesses weren't affected, masked officers dragged people away, the security services warning the protesters they may be treated as terrorists. the authorities are really afraid of this form of protest. it seems this is the only form which really works. i think this is perhaps the only way right now. there is no possibility to organise a dialogue within belarus.

the strike came a day after police fired stun grenades and detained scores of the tens of thousands of protesters taking part in the 11th straight weekend of rallies... as well as hunting down some in their apartments. official media insisted president lukashenko was at work as normal on monday with a busy week ahead of him. the stand—off continues. let's get some of the day's other news: up to 78 people are reported to have been killed in russian air strikes in northern syria. the attacks are said to have targeted a training base for turkish—backed militia fighters in the province of idlib. the strikes put at risk a ceasefire in the province, brokered and monitored by russia and turkey, which back opposing sides in the war. more than 160 people have been detained in belarus, as workers and students

across the countryjoined a national strike called by the opposition. it came a day after an ultimatum expired for alexander lu kashenko to resign as president. the opposition figurehead svetla na tikhanovskaya has hailed what she described as the great solidarity shown. thousands of people have blocked roads in cities across poland in the fifth consecutive day of protests against a court ruling introducing a near total ban on abortion. demonstrations took place in 50 polish cities, despite coronavirus restrictions which ban gatherings of more than five people. now let's stay with the us presidential election. and this week, in a series of special reports from the key state of arizona, clive myrie will be looking at some of the issues preoccupying voters as they make their choices. he starts today with illegal immigration and president trump's signature promise to build a wall along the border with mexico. the heavens were no barrier

to american idealism. but, on earth, how best to protect what it means to be american? a nation of settlers that, for some, is turning on outsiders. as america votes, immigration is high on the ballot. build the wall! the biggest beneficiary maybe happens to be arizona. that wall, how good is the wall? it is the iconic idea of trump's america. and this... cowboys and big skies, part of the iconography of america. all right, all right, guys, 0k. bill mcdonald's ranch in arizona is just a few miles from the border with mexico. illegal immigration and drug trafficking are live issues here, yet for him, a republican, billions spent on a border wall is a waste of money. people think, well, you build a wall, you've solved a problem. they've already got saws that

cut through that wall. you can do it with technology and do it just as well. it's political, he made a promise, he was determined to keep it. he thought, if he kept it, he'd get re—elected. it's the only reason he does anything. i'm not crazy about everybody that crosses the border, but i'm not crazy about everybody that already lives here either. i mean, there are good people and bad people in all stripes. but secure borders are a necessity. we saw drug cartel spotters across the wall in mexico, checking if the coast is clear to send over human mules. these ones went that way, so yesterday i followed these guys... tim foley often spots them too, videoing the mules camouflaged with their backpacks of drugs. from his remote base in southern arizona, he leads a group of armed volunteers that patrols the border. is the wall making america great again? it's making it safer. tim represents a strain of american patriotism donald trump tapped into, giving up everything

he knew in san francisco to come to arizona. why are you involved? what is it about this situation that gets you angry? i didn't trust the government or the media to tell the actual truth of what was going on. some apple sauce... but what is the truth? there's another group of volunteers on the border. they are from a charity that leaves water and food supplies for people crossing over from mexico, asylum seekers fleeing persecution in migrant families with children reaching for a better life. in this one area, the remains of 181 people have been found this year. you see young... young people, old people, you see everybody. and you see their families. the families just reach out to us, desperately looking for their loved ones. it's an unimaginable pain and anguish. donald trump's wall

speaks to us all. we project on the barrier our own values. this election sees millions of americans casting their votes, in line with who they believe they really are. nasa has announced that there could be even more water on the surface of the moon than previously thought. hidden pockets of ice might cover the surface, patches which may have gone without any sunlight for billions of years. the discovery could be a boost for plans to build a permanent base on the moon, as our science correspondent victoria gill explains. we're right where we wanted to be for station two. it looks like a great place. half a century since humans set foot on its surface, we've mapped every boulder and crater. but a series of discoveries that nasa revealed today have shown that the moon's surface has been hiding an abundant supply of water.

one of the discoveries comes from a telescope onboard a modified boeing 747. by flying above much of the earth's atmosphere, by flying above 99% of the earth's atmosphere, it has a clearer view of the solar system. this infrared telescope was able to detect the signature of water molecules on the lunar surface. in another simultaneously published discovery, researchers mapped shadowed areas called cold traps, where frozen water might be stored permanently. what these papers are telling us is that, actually, that the water could be trapped in slightly more easier to access areas that aren't so hazardous. and this is really important, especially if we want to send crewed missions to the moon. and it gives us slightly more options in terms of where we can go and making sure that it's safe for all those involved. to go farther, we must be able to sustain missions of greater distance and duration... these discoveries will be a boost for nasa's plan to send the first woman and the next man to the moon by 2024. because while the apollo missions already took humans there and back,

future missions will aim to establish a base there as a gateway to explore the rest of the solar system. the next generation of crewed missions to the moon are going to have to be far more sustainable, so that means finding and learning to use natural resources, particularly water, that's already there. plans to return to the moon are already in progress. but these discoveries raise the tantalising possibility that our natural satellite isn'tjust somewhere to visit but a place to stay. a reminder of our top story: amy coney barrett has been confirmed as a justice on the us supreme court. she took her oath of office at a ceremony at the white house — where she stressed the importance of judicial independence. she is 48, it is a lifetime post and cements a conservative majority in the country's top appoint as president trump's

third appointment. hello there. a pretty powerful jet stream will be racing across the atlantic for much of this week, generated by some big temperature contrasts across the united states. so that's going to bring areas of low pressure to our shores, bringing rain and gales and huge waves crashing up against some western coastlines. but it will be turning milder towards the end of the week, particularly across the south. this very deep area of low pressure contains the remnants of what was hurricane epsilon, extending a weather front out in our direction. some fairly strong winds as well. to start the day, tuesday, for northern ireland, wales, the south—west of england, this band of rain will continue to journey its way eastwards. a bright and chilly start across northern and eastern areas before the cloud and the rain arrives, though not reaching the far north—east of scotland and the northern isles until after dark. behind it, skies will brighten, sunshine, some heavy showers, but it will be blustery

with winds 35, 40 miles an hour across the south. 14 degrees or so here, chilly across the north and east after that cool start. as we head through tuesday night, it's going to be a blustery one, strong winds in the west and lots of showers, some of these will tend to be heavier. but central and eastern areas again turning drier with clear skies. those temperatures range from 5 to around 8 or 9 celsius. this area of low pressure will continue to dominate the central north atlantic. got a long fetch of strong winds across the north atlantic and that's going to bring some very big waves to western areas, in excess of 10 metres across the west of ireland. so some dangerous coastlines to be walking on across the west through the course of wednesday. so, take care for that. the day will be another one of sunshine and showers, blustery, heavy showers at that, may be some hail and thunder mixed in, probably the best of any brightness will be towards the east. those temperatures on the cool side, 10 to 13 celsius. another low pressure system races up from the south—west to our shores on thursday,

that's going to bring another round of pretty heavy rain this time, i think heavier rain for northern and western areas. some strong winds, perhaps touching gale force. the rainfall totals really will be mounting up across parts of south—west scotland and north—west england, northern and western wales. we could see some minor flooding here by the time we reach thursday and indeed friday. but some sunshine in the south and signs of things getting milder, in the mid teens celsius there. turns milder still on friday across the south, but it will stay quite wet across northern and western areas.

this is bbc news — the headlines.

amy coney barrett has been sworn in as a justice on the us supreme court, cementing a conservative majority on the nation's top court. as expected, the republican—controlled senate confirmed president trump's nominee by 52 votes to 48. it is his third appointment to the court. it is a lifetime appointment — amy coney barratt is 48. belgian officials are warning that the country risks going into a second lockdown due to a worrying increase in the number of coronavirus patients in hospital intensive care beds. ten belgian hospitals have asked medics who've tested positive for covid 19 — but shown no symptoms — to keep working. scientists at us space agency nasa say there's probably more water on the moon than previously thought. lunar researchers think there are many small patches of pristine ice — hidden in nooks and crannies on the moon's surface — that haven't been exposed to direct sunlight for billions of years. the fashion designer — sir paul smith — is celebrating